The following details the history and intentions of Avalon School's democratic learning environment...
But community just doesn’t happen, even in a small school. To become a true community the institution must be organized around people… What we are really talking about is the culture of the school, the vision that is shared, the ways people relate to one another…Simply stated, the school becomes a community of learning when it is a purposeful place, a communicative place, a just place, a disciplined place, a caring place, and a celebrative place. Boyer (1995)
We, the People of Avalon, in order to provide for a safe and productive learning environment, promote the obtaining and usage of knowledge for the benefit of those around us, and to ensure general happiness, do ordain and establish this constitution forAvalonHigh School The Constitution ofAvalonHigh School
Established in the fall of 2001, today Avalon School educates 160 7-12th graders who seek out its unique educational opportunities for a variety of reasons. Many come to focus on their interests with the project-based curriculum, some for its attention to theater productions or unique clubs, others for its small community, and even more to receive attention from individual advisors. All come with the hope that it will provide something that they could not find in their home schools or districts. This is the case for every Minnesota charter school. When opening their doors that fall, Avalon’s educators understood the need to develop and offer a school culture that felt distinctly different than where they as educators and their students came from. They felt this school culture could be most successfully and authentically created within the school’s civic education.
It was through intentional steps towards creating a school culture that they, both educators and students established the Avalon Constitution and a program that lives and breathes engaged citizenship and democracy. This can be seen through the establishment of advisories, a school congress, restorative justice circles and peer mediation, all guided by its co-constructed school constitution. The spirit of the constitution conveys that Avalon expects and models respect for individuals, different cultures, the community, and the environment. There is an atmosphere of tolerance, integrity, equity, and safety. Avalon believes it is the responsibility of individuals to be engaged, active participants in their local and global communities. Visitors to Avalon immediately recognize the sense of purpose, quality, and commitment that energizes this community. It was the development of the constitution, followed by the formation of Congress, the institution of the circle process, and the training of peer mediators that solidified this community, and thus these elements, along with techniques geared towards increasing parent involvement, that Avalon School wishes to disseminate.
In the first year of Avalon, students in a semester civics seminar birthed the constitution of Avalon High School, based in part upon a class constitution established and evolved over several decades in Bernie and Martha Schein’s class at the Paideia School in Atlanta. With the assistance of Dr. Walter Enloe at Hamline University, Carrie Bakken, social studies teacher and now co-program coordinator at Avalon School, led eighteen students on an intellectual and heartfelt endeavor. In the beginning of creating a constitution, there were many struggles reminiscent somewhat of the constitutional founding of the United States and the struggles that many young democratic institutions go through. Students argued about whether they should have a constitution much less a congress or student government and many meetings were spent “discussing” the issue. After students in the civics seminar wrote the initial constitution, which underwent many drafts, the whole school voted to accept it. Since that time, the document has gone through several more revisions; today the constitution constitutes and governs the school, and defines how the students and staff work together. It tells all members what their rights and responsibilities are as citizens of Avalon.
Avalon’s constitution defines four branches of government: 1) the people individually and as a whole; 2) the legislative branch (student congress); 3) the judiciary (the Mediation Council consisting of the peer mediators and the circle process group); 4) and the executive branch (the Avalon staff). Together they govern the school. Another feature of the school’s government which survived a rocky beginning and was amended to its present form was the judiciary branch. Initially judges were appointed to make up the original judicial system; these were a group of dedicated young men and one young woman who waited patiently for court cases that never arrived, planning to “sentence” each guilty offender with an appropriate punishment. Avalon soon realized that wasn’t how they wanted to address problems and offenses in their community.
Thus, as a living, breathing document, the constitution was changed to incorporate the current peer mediation and Circle processes into the judiciary branch which today is known as the Mediation Council. The peer mediators are a group of trained students who mediate issues which come up in the community between students or between students and staff. The circle process, based upon restorative justice philosophy, is another approach available to students and staff to identify issues and resolve conflicts. Avalon believes that Congress and Circle are such an important part of its community that meeting times are built into the weekly schedule. If, for example, students have issues they want to bring up, they can bring the issue to the Circle for a discussion. If the issue can be resolved in the Circle, then there is no further discussion. Sometimes Circle issues are brought to Congress and a bill may be created. In addition, individual students may bring issues and bills to Congress.
When a bill is submitted to Congress, the participants vote on it. In the past few years, students have submitted a variety of bills to Congress, which have all passed with some modifications. Examples include a bill requiring Avalon to offer sex education seminars twice a year, a bill allowing students to read outside their advisories’ areas (during all-school reading period each day after lunch), and a bill to establish a school-wide mandatory advisory cleaning period. The Congress has also addressed such issues as dress code, open-lunch policies, and methods to improve attendance. When the bill passes Congress, it is then submitted to the executive branch for approval. The executive branch may approve the bill, approve the bill with modifications; the executive branch may also invite the parents to discuss the bill, or bring it to the school board before granting approval. If there are modifications to the bill, it goes back to Congress for approval. Once the bill is approved, it becomes law. This system of governance has allowed Avalon to build a strong community, facing challenges with a cooperative approach. Students know that when they have problems, they can discuss it with their advisor or any staff member, or they can bring the issue to Congress or Circle, or they can ask for peer mediation. Students rely on one another to solve problems through myriad means thereby helping each other deal with personal and social issues authentically, humanely, and often efficiently.
The Constitution of the School of Avalon
~Preamble~
We, the People of Avalon, in order to provide for a safe and productive learning
environment, promote the obtaining and usage of knowledge for the benefit of those
around us, and ensure general happiness, do ordain and establish this constitution for
Avalon High School.
~Article I~
The Legislative Branch
Section I.
All Legislative power herein shall be vested in a Congress of Avalon, which shall
consist solely of that group of officials.
Section II.
Congress: Organization and Powers of Impeachment
1. Congress made of any person choosing to take part.
2. Any person attending may vote, regardless of prior attendance. The only
reason a person would not be allowed to vote is if that person were removed
from Congress.
3. For a person to be removed there must be a majority vote in favor of removing
that person. Length of removal will be judged by remaining Congress
members. If a person is removed three times, that person is no longer allowed
to take part in Congress.
4. No representative shall hold a position of higher power within the Congress,
therefore, there shall be no Speaker of the House, nor any similar position.
Section III.
Meetings Of Congress
Meetings shall be held on a weekly basis, at whatever time is found most
convenient by the members of Congress (if there is free attendance we need a set time).
Section IV.
Rules Of Procedure
Minutes must be recorded at every meeting. The Person that records minutes at
one meeting leads at the next.
Section V.
Privileges and Limitations
1. Representatives of Congress shall be compensated with credit, and by no other
means.
2. For a Congress member who has been removed three times to be reinstated,
that member must first go through mediation, as well as be approved by
Congress.
Section VI.
Procedure for passing bills, executive veto
1. Congress is charged with passing bills.
2. Any member of the school may propose a bill to the Legislative body, whether
they are a student or a staff member.
3. A bill must pass through congress with a majority, after which it must be
passed through the Executive branch, also with a majority vote.
4. For a bill to be vetoed there must be a majority vote within the Executive
branch in favor of such a veto.
5. A bill may not be re-proposed for one block.
Section VII.
Powers delegated to congress
1. The Representatives of the student body shall report all meeting information
to their peers.
2. Congress may make, modify, or disband any law applying to students or the
student/advisor relationship so long as it is not unconstitutional or against any
higher-level laws.
3. Congress reserves the right to declare emergency or follow up meetings that
are not scheduled.
4. Congress may form committees to organize, control, and lead any and all
social events, including but not limited to the All School Meetings,
Presentation Nights, Public Relations Tours, School Dances, and other events
called to order.
Section VIII.
Powers denied to congress
1. Congress may not override decisions made by higher-level laws, including,
but not limited to the School Board, School District, Minnesota Government,
or US Federal Law.
2. Congress may not be involved in or perform any disciplinary actions, as those
are reserved for the Mediators.
3. Congress may not override the Executive veto.
4. Congress may not place restrictions on other branches of Government.
~Article II~
The Judiciary branch
Section I
Division of branch, tenure of office
1. The Judiciary branch of Avalon should consist of the Mediation Council.
2. The Mediation Council will consist of Peer Mediators as well the Circle
Process Group.
3. Any student who attends the mediation training may be a Mediator.
4. Mediators will facilitate communication to resolve individual student/student
issues or student/staff issues.
5. There will be a minimum of three trained Peer Mediators.
6. The Circle Process Group will address school issues through a Talking Circle
and bring resolutions to Congress.
Section II
Jurisdiction
1. The Judicial Branch will be committed to Restorative Justice.
2. The Judicial Branch will handle all cases that are not in violation of higher
laws.
~Article III~
Executive branch
Section I
1. The Avalon Staff shall form the Executive Branch.
2. The executive branch shall be responsible for upholding all higher laws.
3. The Executive Branch is permitted to veto laws made by Congress.
4. It is the responsibility of the Executive Branch to enforce the laws.
~Article IV~
Governing Body
Avalon School guarantees all students that it is a Democratic single party
government, and will follow all procedures as such.
~Article V~
Amendment Procedures
Any member of the school may propose an amendment or bill, whether they are
students or staff, to the Legislative Branch.
~FIRST AMENDMENT~
BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Every person has the right to bring someone to mediation.
2. Every person has the responsibility to attend mediation when asked at a
reasonable time.
3. Every person has the right to be treated with respect and dignity.
4. Every person has the responsibility to treat others with respect and dignity.
5. Every person has the right to his or her own personal space.
6. Every person has the responsibility to respect other people’s personal
space.
7. Every person has the right and responsibility to try.
8. Every person has the right to ask why.
9. Every person has the responsibility to question themselves and their
actions in times of duress.
10. Every person has the right to speak and communicate his or her views as
long as they are respectful to others.
11. Every person has the responsibility to listen at all times to whoever is
speaking.
12. Every person has the right and responsibility to be involved and
participate here at Avalon High School.
Avalon Laws
Law 001: Sex Ed
Be it enacted that Avalon will provide a sexual education seminar two times each year.
The seminars shall:
a. Be one block long.
b. Be exclusively on sexual education.
c. Address relationships, personal values, birth control options, pregnancy
options, sexually transmitted infections, sexual health rights, sexual abuse,
sexual abuse rights, and sexual orientation.
This requirement would facilitate Avalon students’ access to information on sexual health
so that they can make informed decisions on sexual issues.
d. for graduation standards
e. meet two times a week
Law 002: Mandatory Advisory Cleaning Period
This bill proposes that:
1. There will be one set and repeating period of time in which each advisory will
remain in the advisory and clean their respective learning areas.
2. A clean area will be defined as:
· Void of all unnecessary rubbish (bottles, cans, scraps of paper, etc.), both
on and under desks.
· Being or having the appearance of being neat and organized (books in a
pile, no loose papers, etc)
· Furthermore, if any rubbish receptacles exist in the advisory, a designated
person or volunteer will dump said receptacle into one of the larger bins in
the cafe´.
1. Students and advisors will take care to ensure that during the cleaning period, all
recyclable materials will be placed into their proper receptacles.
2. The said period of time may not be more frequent than once a week.
3. The said period of time may not be shorter than a quarter-hour.
4. The preferred period of time will be during advisory time.
5. Both advisors and students will take part in the cleaning.
6. For Advisory credit, if students don’t clean during that time, they do not receive
credit for that time.
Law 004-Moment of Silence
We have voted to no longer have a moment of silence at the end of the Monday
morning meetings. The vote came out 16-14 in favor.
Law 005- Comfort Committee
Avalon students have shown significant need for a comfortable meeting area. The
Congress Comfort Committee would like to request the permission of the Avalon staff to
allow us to bring two to three medium sized cushioned chairs (as seen in photo or
smaller) and a small coffee table to provide a more comfy and welcoming place to work
in the back of the café to be used by the students and staff with one person per chair.
Monitoring the students’ activities will be simpler in this location, and since there will be
chairs rather than couches problems faced in previous years will not be an issue.
Law 006- Circle Disciplinary Action
This bill is to insure that circle guidelines will be respected and followed. Student
will be given one warning by the facilitator or can be suggested by another student. The
second warning will result in the student being asked to leave that circle meeting. This
decision will be made by the facilitator but can be later discussed if it was seen as
unacceptable. If so, it will not count as one of the student’s three dismissals. After being
asked to leave three circles, the group will vote to decide if the student may return. ¾
opinion will decide this for the rest of that school year. If the student is allowed to return
and another incident occurs, another vote will take place. This will happen for each
situation that may follow.
Law 007-Guardian
When a student reaches the age of 18, given that they have parental consent given
in person at a conference with the parent and advisor, they have the right to sign their
own project proposals, seminar registration and seminar drop forms, and permission slips
for field trips.
Law 008-Math Law
Any senior may be use the hour here on referred to as the “math hour” (9:20 am –
10:20 am) that Avalon school has, to work on any projects. This includes their senior
project, outstanding work, or any other obstacles that are threatening them from
graduation. They may do this once the following guidelines are met:
The student must be ahead in math by one week, which by the standards
now, would be 3-4 objectives. The student must be a senior or above. The student attends school on time.
The student is in Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus. The student must have permission by signature from both advisor and
math teacher. If the student falls behind for whatever reason, at the advisor’s/math teacher’s
discretion, this privilege will be revoked. At any time, this privilege can be revoked at advisor’s/math teacher’s discretion.
Student will have a sheet that they must have with them, here on referred to as a “pass”. Student must have this “pass” signed, and sign it themselves. This pass will work as a regular pass does. Advisors may check it, and if the pass is lost the
student will need to get another. Students may only work in their own advisory. Students must have pass with them. Students must be working during this time.
Law 009-Reading
Students have the right to read in the café provided they have turned in their
annotated bibliography for the previous block. If the student is disruptive while in the
café they will no longer be allowed there for the rest of the block. Students must return
to the advisory on time from lunch to be able to read outside the advisory.
With approval by the Avalon School Board, Congress has also revised the following
policies in the Avalon Student Handbook:
Dress Code
Tardy Policy
Attendance Policy
The following details the history and intentions of Avalon School's democratic learning environment...
But community just doesn’t happen, even in a small school. To become a true community the institution must be organized around people… What we are really talking about is the culture of the school, the vision that is shared, the ways people relate to one another…Simply stated, the school becomes a community of learning when it is a purposeful place, a communicative place, a just place, a disciplined place, a caring place, and a celebrative place. Boyer (1995)
We, the People of Avalon, in order to provide for a safe and productive learning environment, promote the obtaining and usage of knowledge for the benefit of those around us, and to ensure general happiness, do ordain and establish this constitution for Avalon High School
The Constitution of Avalon High School
Established in the fall of 2001, today Avalon School educates 160 7-12th graders who seek out its unique educational opportunities for a variety of reasons. Many come to focus on their interests with the project-based curriculum, some for its attention to theater productions or unique clubs, others for its small community, and even more to receive attention from individual advisors. All come with the hope that it will provide something that they could not find in their home schools or districts. This is the case for every Minnesota charter school. When opening their doors that fall, Avalon’s educators understood the need to develop and offer a school culture that felt distinctly different than where they as educators and their students came from. They felt this school culture could be most successfully and authentically created within the school’s civic education.
It was through intentional steps towards creating a school culture that they, both educators and students established the Avalon Constitution and a program that lives and breathes engaged citizenship and democracy. This can be seen through the establishment of advisories, a school congress, restorative justice circles and peer mediation, all guided by its co-constructed school constitution. The spirit of the constitution conveys that Avalon expects and models respect for individuals, different cultures, the community, and the environment. There is an atmosphere of tolerance, integrity, equity, and safety. Avalon believes it is the responsibility of individuals to be engaged, active participants in their local and global communities. Visitors to Avalon immediately recognize the sense of purpose, quality, and commitment that energizes this community. It was the development of the constitution, followed by the formation of Congress, the institution of the circle process, and the training of peer mediators that solidified this community, and thus these elements, along with techniques geared towards increasing parent involvement, that Avalon School wishes to disseminate.
In the first year of Avalon, students in a semester civics seminar birthed the constitution of Avalon High School, based in part upon a class constitution established and evolved over several decades in Bernie and Martha Schein’s class at the Paideia School in Atlanta. With the assistance of Dr. Walter Enloe at Hamline University, Carrie Bakken, social studies teacher and now co-program coordinator at Avalon School, led eighteen students on an intellectual and heartfelt endeavor. In the beginning of creating a constitution, there were many struggles reminiscent somewhat of the constitutional founding of the United States and the struggles that many young democratic institutions go through. Students argued about whether they should have a constitution much less a congress or student government and many meetings were spent “discussing” the issue. After students in the civics seminar wrote the initial constitution, which underwent many drafts, the whole school voted to accept it. Since that time, the document has gone through several more revisions; today the constitution constitutes and governs the school, and defines how the students and staff work together. It tells all members what their rights and responsibilities are as citizens of Avalon.
Avalon’s constitution defines four branches of government: 1) the people individually and as a whole; 2) the legislative branch (student congress); 3) the judiciary (the Mediation Council consisting of the peer mediators and the circle process group); 4) and the executive branch (the Avalon staff). Together they govern the school. Another feature of the school’s government which survived a rocky beginning and was amended to its present form was the judiciary branch. Initially judges were appointed to make up the original judicial system; these were a group of dedicated young men and one young woman who waited patiently for court cases that never arrived, planning to “sentence” each guilty offender with an appropriate punishment. Avalon soon realized that wasn’t how they wanted to address problems and offenses in their community.
Thus, as a living, breathing document, the constitution was changed to incorporate the current peer mediation and Circle processes into the judiciary branch which today is known as the Mediation Council. The peer mediators are a group of trained students who mediate issues which come up in the community between students or between students and staff. The circle process, based upon restorative justice philosophy, is another approach available to students and staff to identify issues and resolve conflicts. Avalon believes that Congress and Circle are such an important part of its community that meeting times are built into the weekly schedule. If, for example, students have issues they want to bring up, they can bring the issue to the Circle for a discussion. If the issue can be resolved in the Circle, then there is no further discussion. Sometimes Circle issues are brought to Congress and a bill may be created. In addition, individual students may bring issues and bills to Congress.
When a bill is submitted to Congress, the participants vote on it. In the past few years, students have submitted a variety of bills to Congress, which have all passed with some modifications. Examples include a bill requiring Avalon to offer sex education seminars twice a year, a bill allowing students to read outside their advisories’ areas (during all-school reading period each day after lunch), and a bill to establish a school-wide mandatory advisory cleaning period. The Congress has also addressed such issues as dress code, open-lunch policies, and methods to improve attendance. When the bill passes Congress, it is then submitted to the executive branch for approval. The executive branch may approve the bill, approve the bill with modifications; the executive branch may also invite the parents to discuss the bill, or bring it to the school board before granting approval. If there are modifications to the bill, it goes back to Congress for approval. Once the bill is approved, it becomes law. This system of governance has allowed Avalon to build a strong community, facing challenges with a cooperative approach. Students know that when they have problems, they can discuss it with their advisor or any staff member, or they can bring the issue to Congress or Circle, or they can ask for peer mediation. Students rely on one another to solve problems through myriad means thereby helping each other deal with personal and social issues authentically, humanely, and often efficiently.
The Constitution of the School of Avalon
~Preamble~
We, the People of Avalon, in order to provide for a safe and productive learning
environment, promote the obtaining and usage of knowledge for the benefit of those
around us, and ensure general happiness, do ordain and establish this constitution for
Avalon High School.
~Article I~
The Legislative Branch
Section I.
All Legislative power herein shall be vested in a Congress of Avalon, which shall
consist solely of that group of officials.
Section II.
Congress: Organization and Powers of Impeachment
1. Congress made of any person choosing to take part.
2. Any person attending may vote, regardless of prior attendance. The only
reason a person would not be allowed to vote is if that person were removed
from Congress.
3. For a person to be removed there must be a majority vote in favor of removing
that person. Length of removal will be judged by remaining Congress
members. If a person is removed three times, that person is no longer allowed
to take part in Congress.
4. No representative shall hold a position of higher power within the Congress,
therefore, there shall be no Speaker of the House, nor any similar position.
Section III.
Meetings Of Congress
Meetings shall be held on a weekly basis, at whatever time is found most
convenient by the members of Congress (if there is free attendance we need a set time).
Section IV.
Rules Of Procedure
Minutes must be recorded at every meeting. The Person that records minutes at
one meeting leads at the next.
Section V.
Privileges and Limitations
1. Representatives of Congress shall be compensated with credit, and by no other
means.
2. For a Congress member who has been removed three times to be reinstated,
that member must first go through mediation, as well as be approved by
Congress.
Section VI.
Procedure for passing bills, executive veto
1. Congress is charged with passing bills.
2. Any member of the school may propose a bill to the Legislative body, whether
they are a student or a staff member.
3. A bill must pass through congress with a majority, after which it must be
passed through the Executive branch, also with a majority vote.
4. For a bill to be vetoed there must be a majority vote within the Executive
branch in favor of such a veto.
5. A bill may not be re-proposed for one block.
Section VII.
Powers delegated to congress
1. The Representatives of the student body shall report all meeting information
to their peers.
2. Congress may make, modify, or disband any law applying to students or the
student/advisor relationship so long as it is not unconstitutional or against any
higher-level laws.
3. Congress reserves the right to declare emergency or follow up meetings that
are not scheduled.
4. Congress may form committees to organize, control, and lead any and all
social events, including but not limited to the All School Meetings,
Presentation Nights, Public Relations Tours, School Dances, and other events
called to order.
Section VIII.
Powers denied to congress
1. Congress may not override decisions made by higher-level laws, including,
but not limited to the School Board, School District, Minnesota Government,
or US Federal Law.
2. Congress may not be involved in or perform any disciplinary actions, as those
are reserved for the Mediators.
3. Congress may not override the Executive veto.
4. Congress may not place restrictions on other branches of Government.
~Article II~
The Judiciary branch
Section I
Division of branch, tenure of office
1. The Judiciary branch of Avalon should consist of the Mediation Council.
2. The Mediation Council will consist of Peer Mediators as well the Circle
Process Group.
3. Any student who attends the mediation training may be a Mediator.
4. Mediators will facilitate communication to resolve individual student/student
issues or student/staff issues.
5. There will be a minimum of three trained Peer Mediators.
6. The Circle Process Group will address school issues through a Talking Circle
and bring resolutions to Congress.
Section II
Jurisdiction
1. The Judicial Branch will be committed to Restorative Justice.
2. The Judicial Branch will handle all cases that are not in violation of higher
laws.
~Article III~
Executive branch
Section I
1. The Avalon Staff shall form the Executive Branch.
2. The executive branch shall be responsible for upholding all higher laws.
3. The Executive Branch is permitted to veto laws made by Congress.
4. It is the responsibility of the Executive Branch to enforce the laws.
~Article IV~
Governing Body
Avalon School guarantees all students that it is a Democratic single party
government, and will follow all procedures as such.
~Article V~
Amendment Procedures
Any member of the school may propose an amendment or bill, whether they are
students or staff, to the Legislative Branch.
~FIRST AMENDMENT~
BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Every person has the right to bring someone to mediation.
2. Every person has the responsibility to attend mediation when asked at a
reasonable time.
3. Every person has the right to be treated with respect and dignity.
4. Every person has the responsibility to treat others with respect and dignity.
5. Every person has the right to his or her own personal space.
6. Every person has the responsibility to respect other people’s personal
space.
7. Every person has the right and responsibility to try.
8. Every person has the right to ask why.
9. Every person has the responsibility to question themselves and their
actions in times of duress.
10. Every person has the right to speak and communicate his or her views as
long as they are respectful to others.
11. Every person has the responsibility to listen at all times to whoever is
speaking.
12. Every person has the right and responsibility to be involved and
participate here at Avalon High School.
Avalon Laws
Law 001: Sex Ed
Be it enacted that Avalon will provide a sexual education seminar two times each year.
The seminars shall:
a. Be one block long.
b. Be exclusively on sexual education.
c. Address relationships, personal values, birth control options, pregnancy
options, sexually transmitted infections, sexual health rights, sexual abuse,
sexual abuse rights, and sexual orientation.
This requirement would facilitate Avalon students’ access to information on sexual health
so that they can make informed decisions on sexual issues.
d. for graduation standards
e. meet two times a week
Law 002: Mandatory Advisory Cleaning Period
This bill proposes that:
1. There will be one set and repeating period of time in which each advisory will
remain in the advisory and clean their respective learning areas.
2. A clean area will be defined as:
· Void of all unnecessary rubbish (bottles, cans, scraps of paper, etc.), both
on and under desks.
· Being or having the appearance of being neat and organized (books in a
pile, no loose papers, etc)
· Furthermore, if any rubbish receptacles exist in the advisory, a designated
person or volunteer will dump said receptacle into one of the larger bins in
the cafe´.
1. Students and advisors will take care to ensure that during the cleaning period, all
recyclable materials will be placed into their proper receptacles.
2. The said period of time may not be more frequent than once a week.
3. The said period of time may not be shorter than a quarter-hour.
4. The preferred period of time will be during advisory time.
5. Both advisors and students will take part in the cleaning.
6. For Advisory credit, if students don’t clean during that time, they do not receive
credit for that time.
Law 004-Moment of Silence
We have voted to no longer have a moment of silence at the end of the Monday
morning meetings. The vote came out 16-14 in favor.
Law 005- Comfort Committee
Avalon students have shown significant need for a comfortable meeting area. The
Congress Comfort Committee would like to request the permission of the Avalon staff to
allow us to bring two to three medium sized cushioned chairs (as seen in photo or
smaller) and a small coffee table to provide a more comfy and welcoming place to work
in the back of the café to be used by the students and staff with one person per chair.
Monitoring the students’ activities will be simpler in this location, and since there will be
chairs rather than couches problems faced in previous years will not be an issue.
Law 006- Circle Disciplinary Action
This bill is to insure that circle guidelines will be respected and followed. Student
will be given one warning by the facilitator or can be suggested by another student. The
second warning will result in the student being asked to leave that circle meeting. This
decision will be made by the facilitator but can be later discussed if it was seen as
unacceptable. If so, it will not count as one of the student’s three dismissals. After being
asked to leave three circles, the group will vote to decide if the student may return. ¾
opinion will decide this for the rest of that school year. If the student is allowed to return
and another incident occurs, another vote will take place. This will happen for each
situation that may follow.
Law 007-Guardian
When a student reaches the age of 18, given that they have parental consent given
in person at a conference with the parent and advisor, they have the right to sign their
own project proposals, seminar registration and seminar drop forms, and permission slips
for field trips.
Law 008-Math Law
Any senior may be use the hour here on referred to as the “math hour” (9:20 am –
10:20 am) that Avalon school has, to work on any projects. This includes their senior
project, outstanding work, or any other obstacles that are threatening them from
graduation. They may do this once the following guidelines are met:
The student must be ahead in math by one week, which by the standards
now, would be 3-4 objectives. The student must be a senior or above. The student attends school on time.
The student is in Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus. The student must have permission by signature from both advisor and
math teacher. If the student falls behind for whatever reason, at the advisor’s/math teacher’s
discretion, this privilege will be revoked. At any time, this privilege can be revoked at advisor’s/math teacher’s discretion.
Student will have a sheet that they must have with them, here on referred to as a “pass”. Student must have this “pass” signed, and sign it themselves. This pass will work as a regular pass does. Advisors may check it, and if the pass is lost the
student will need to get another. Students may only work in their own advisory. Students must have pass with them. Students must be working during this time.
Law 009-Reading
Students have the right to read in the café provided they have turned in their
annotated bibliography for the previous block. If the student is disruptive while in the
café they will no longer be allowed there for the rest of the block. Students must return
to the advisory on time from lunch to be able to read outside the advisory.
With approval by the Avalon School Board, Congress has also revised the following
policies in the Avalon Student Handbook:
Dress Code
Tardy Policy
Attendance Policy